Thomas Sowell: Waiving freedom

Among the objections to ObamaCare, one that has not gotten as much attention as it should is the president’s power to waive the law for any company, union or other enterprise he chooses.

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution provides for “equal protection of the laws” for all Americans. To have a law that can cost an organization millions of dollars a year either apply or not apply, depending on the whim or political interest of the President of the United States, is to make a mockery of the rule of law.

How secure is any freedom when there is this kind of arbitrary power in the hands of one man?

What does your right of freedom of speech mean if saying something that irritates the Obama administration means that you or your business has to pay huge amounts of money and get hit with all sorts of red tape under ObamaCare that your competitor is exempted from, because your competitor either kept quiet or praised the Obama administration or donated to its reelection campaign?

Arbitrary ObamaCare waivers are bad enough by themselves. They are truly ominous as part of a more general practice of this administration to create arbitrary powers that permit them to walk roughshod over the basic rights of the American people.

The checks and balances of the Constitution have been evaded time and time again by the Obama administration, undermining the fundamental right of the people to determine the laws that govern them, through their elected representatives.

You do not have a self-governing people when huge laws are passed too fast for the public to even know what is in them.

You do not have a self-governing people when “czars” are created by Executive Orders, so that individuals wielding vast powers equal to, or greater than, the powers of Cabinet members do not have to be vetted and confirmed by the people’s elected representatives in the Senate, as Cabinet members must be.

You do not have a self-governing people when decisions to take military action are referred to the United Nations and the Arab League, but not to the Congress of the United States, elected by the American people, whose blood and treasure are squandered.

You do not have a self-governing people when a so-called “consumer protection” agency is created to be financed by the unelected officials of the Federal Reserve System, which can create its own money out of thin air, instead of being financed by appropriations voted by elected members of Congress who have to justify their priorities and trade-offs to the taxpaying public.

You do not have a self-governing people when laws passed by the Congress, signed by previous Presidents, and approved by the federal courts, can have the current President waive whatever sections he does not like, and refuse to enforce those sections, despite his oath to see that the laws are faithfully executed.

Barack Obama, for example, has refused to carry out sections of the immigration laws that he does not like, unilaterally creating de facto amnesty for those illegal immigrants he has chosen to be exempt from the law. The issue is not — repeat, NOT — the wisdom or justice of this President’s immigration policy, but the seizing of arbitrary powers not granted to any President by the Constitution of the United States.

You do not have a self-governing people if President Obama succeeds in having international treaties under United Nations auspices govern the way Americans live their lives, whether with gun control laws or other laws.

Obama’s “citizen of the world” mindset was revealed back in 2008, when he said “We can’t drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that every other country is going to say okay.”

The desire to circumvent the will of the American people was revealed even more ominously when Barack Obama said to Russian President Medvedev — when he thought the microphone was off — that, after he is reelected and need never face the voters again, he can be more “flexible” with the Russians about missile defense.

There are other signs of Obama’s contempt for American Constitutional democracy, but these should be more than enough.

Dare we risk how far he will go when he never has to face the voters again, and can appoint Supreme Court justices who can rubber stamp his power grabs? Will this still be America in 2016?

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Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305. His website is www.tsowell.com.

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With all due respect sir, your immediate criticisms of the President, who was just overwhelmingly re-elected, is reminiscent of those thinkers as Rush Limbaugh.

Simply put, as a Democrat, I am outside of your internal hurricane that is swirling within your beloved party right now. The point being is you, like your party cannot see that it actually is a hurricane until such time you get out and beyond the hurricane to see that it actually is.

For all intents and purposes sir, your philosophies, as Rush Limbaugh's does not appeal to the generation that will be in power and in power soon.

Minorities, women and young people turned this election into a rout in favor of the Democrats, who have long recognized what your party has not and will not see. Your party is still grasping onto the old "white men" extreme right wing base.

If I were in your party, that is exactly where I would be focused on and get these people like yourself and Rush out. Your beloved party would be the benefactor. Until such time, the Republican Party remains the party of "no". As far as the Democrats, we are just saying to keep your message intact and alive. You will assure us control of the White House, the Senate and probably the House with the upcoming midterm elections for a long time to come.

Lamentably, you may be right. There may never be another opportunity to elect a Republican President. Or gain back the Senate. I said morning after, bright and early, that we have passed the Event Horizon.
Ann Coulter has followed up with her views basically saying the same thing. I'm sure you are good with all that. Look west to California for the blueprint laid out for the other 49 states to get behind, soon maybe to even add a fifty-first state for good measure.
A one party set up for sure. How is that working out for them? We may be able to bail them out of their troubles, but who will bail us out??

I've been preaching conservative, nationalistic, and patriotic thought for 40 years. I am anachronistic in thought and deed. I'm sorry that you confuse the GOP as pure naysayers.

I'm out raged at the injection of race into this past political cycle. Black, black this, black that. Isn't he white? A white president as well? One statement is as equally absurd as the other, and both true. More so, culturally wasn't he was RAISED white. Think about that for a moment. I didn't care what he is, but more what his politics are.
Mitt was never my first choice. That would have been Mr Cain. Imagine that...

I always believed that if you don't 'stand for something, you will fall for anything', That sort of sums up your party for me. Hate to quote Orwell, but, 'We (I) are the dead!'... one day myself, and all who think like me will be as scarce as hens teeth. You will then be able to, unimpeded by people who think like I, rush headlong into your long awaited dreams of establishing all your Utopian fantasies.
I really hope it works out for you and doesn't devolve into the dystopian nightmare I see coming. Really. Lonya was incredulous with that comment I made a while back, but I beg you to explain it away.
With the American mainstream media there to help you along the way, you and all who think like you are well ON the way to all your
just, ends justifies the means, happy new life.

But,... I can't, and won't give up till I have no more life in me.
Maybe there's more... time will tell.

resigned in well deserved disgrace I, a lifelong liberal Democrat, breathed a sigh of relief for our country, and told my wife the Repubiican Party was dead for the rest of my lifetime. I believed it at the time and history quickly proved me dead wrong. Do not underestimate the power of the exreme right wing conservative thread that runs through many American voters. It may be dead wrong for the country but that does not mean it cannot roar back with a vengence. Remember your Scout motto.........BE PREPARED.

Thank you, but I had no need to review your post as I felt enough was said Tuesday night and am not gonna "talk smack". As far as your explanation of "good fashion" in describing the electoral outcome (332-206) I am of the opinion that anyone can put any adjective one wants; especially those that chose to ignore any polling except Rassmussen's and Gallup's which had Romney winning by a slim margin. All the other polls from start to finish had Obama getting re-elected, even after the first debate, and was right on with their sampling.

So history, I agree is a good teacher, but disagree on your views. As one can look at history and interpret to what it means to him or her, many favorable thoughts enter my mind for the Democrats. First they need to keep Limbaugh around, even with his extremist views; as in the last two elections the youth of this country is more turned off by his opinions of people regardless of party than turned on. His representation of old, angry white men, (present company excluded) is nothing new. He turns young people off for sure because whether he ever admits it or not, they are not from his generation and that is the generation he is now speaking to and just don't understand where he is coming from nor could they care less. He has to re-tool for both the youth and the minorities or else he will lose even his own base. I know Mark, you have mentioned in a previous post, that you talked to 2 or 3 of the young people you knew who were going to vote for Mr. Romney instead of voting for Obama again, however exit polls certainly put that issue to bed.

Youth again voted for President Obama and that should tell the country both Democrats and Republicans that change is needed. I agree the Republican Party does not necessarily reinvent itself but get back to its core principles. They talk about the failure of Leadership with Obama- they need to take a look at their own leadership from within.

We can all be Monday morning quarterbacks, however I am one to look for answers and solutions to the many issues Americans face.

The Democratic Party had suffered for years and felt the pain the Republican Party is feeling, so there is parity when one side loses and the other wins.

I have been watching fox news ever since the election to see what they are doing as alot of Democrats are right now. I think they are basically taking a "wait and see" attitude until things start happening and also to see if the Republican Party is telling them to "back off" if they get too out of whack. Believe it or not Mark, I felt apologetic to the many Republicans that worked so hard in not only for Mr. Romney, but for their own beliefs and conscience. Its the everyday people I care about and there are just as many of them that are Republicans as Democrats.

I just watched Obama speak to the nation at one pm today about the fiscal problems the country faces and his leadership in what the outcome will be if they, meaning the House and Senate don't get their act together.

It was also refreshing to see Obama invite Business AND Labor to sit in the upcoming talks along with Boehner and Reid. You know the funny thing about it is, that Labor and Business talk all the time, and thats how things got done in my previous life short of a Presidential Emergency Board and when that happened the workers got screwed everytime. Hopefully the conservative news outlets don't "spin" that around and say something like- their goes the communist bringing in the Big Union Bosses just because they provided the ground game for Obama.

Anyways, I have seen the pendulum swing both ways in my lifetime. After WWII, it swung the Dems way for about 40 years. Then it swung the Republicans for the next 30-40 years. Now it is swinging back the Dems way. However, the Democrats, just like the Republicans, cannot hold onto a good thing once they have it,so be rest assured I will be the one my friend, who will be hurting the next time. All because the Dems got lazy....again!

So anyways Mark, those are my thoughts on all of it. I don't profess to be "all that" as I have ate my share of "humble pie" in my lifetime and have always learned from it. I am sure the Republican Party will adapt to the times and come out of it better than ever.

In closing, I always appreciate and admire your loyalty to your beliefs. Don't ever change my friend and I don't see that in you. Also, I KNOW for a fact you will agree with me on this one: Regardless of Party, I sure am glad the Political Commercials on TV are over with!!!!